Make This Your Last Time | Page 14 of 39

June 16, 2023May 20, 2024 - 1 Comment

LLM Passes California Bar Exam on Her FIRST Try by Being Strategically Independent

Tanvi passed the 2023 February California Bar Exam, which had a 32.5% pass rate.

Pass rates don’t mean anything to MTYLT readers (you) because pass rates have no bearing on their own chance of success.

Like many of the other passers you hear about here, this featured passer did it her own way after she realized things were not working for her.

There are many ways you can pass the exam! You are the dean of your own studies. Bar prep is personal.

June 9, 2023December 4, 2024 - 2 Comments

UK Lawyer Passes CA Bar Exam on His Second Try (Finding Out Result in Maui)

Today’s story is from Sam, who is YET another passer of the 2023 February CA Bar Exam.

I KNOW I KNOW… I want to share some UBE stories too. Blame too many of my CA readers for being part of the 32.5%.

But Sam had to go through a first round of suffering.

It’s not an uncommon story to do what you’re “supposed to” the first time, and then switch to a more conscious and effective approach and pass as a second-timer.

I stayed up late and spent a whole week studying this story because it’s an excellent example of taking control of your bar studies. It’s a lesson for first-timers who want to avoid mistakes and an inspiration for repeaters who have been there before.

💬 “Statistically I shouldn’t have passed this exam (a repeater, taking the February exam, who didn’t attend a US law school), but I did. I did because I took control and did what worked for me.”

This UK attorney passed the California Bar Exam on his second try (and checked results while on vacation in Maui, like a BALLER).

May 19, 2023May 19, 2023 - 1 Comment

How a mother of two passed the California Bar Exam while working in biglaw (32.5% pass rate)

Hannah passed the 2023 February CA Bar Exam, one of the HARDEST exams with a 32.5% pass rate (even lower than the 2022 Feb exam).

She did it efficiently and effectively:

on her first try
with 7-8 weeks of studying
while attending to two toddlers and a biglaw job!

I’m excited to share Hannah’s story and 4 BIG nuggets of wisdom I distilled from her story.

(Babe, wake up! Another banger of a passer story just dropped.)

May 6, 2023May 6, 2023 - 2 Comments

The 3 Things You Need When Starting Bar Prep (Live Stream Replay)

“What should I know when I’m starting bar prep?”

I did a live stream with Jennifer Duclair to talk about how to take the guesswork out of bar preparation and get a better sense of direction as you start studying for your next bar exam.

It was fun! Japes and nuggets of insights were dropped, and I’m pleased with how this turned out. (Maybe I’ll do another one next year…)

Here’s me throwing Kaplan under the bus:

What to do with your schedule when starting bar prep

Here’s the recording (go to 8:12 where I talk about the study schedule shown above), along with timestamps so you can jump to the parts you’re most interested in:

April 23, 2023January 4, 2025 - 2 Comments

Struggling with the MBE? Don’t Gloss Over These Tips

For the MBE, I often see bar takers trying to seek endless questions and debating minutiae like AdaptiBar vs UWorld.

Instead, you want to know the rules cold. This doesn’t just mean memorizing the general rule. It means knowing sub-issues like the elements, exceptions, possible defenses, and other nuances so you can hone in on and eliminate choices better.

The more nuanced your understanding of the rules, the clearer the choices, and the fewer ultimate 50/50 decisions you’ll be forced to make.

A relatively general understanding of the law can be enough for essays (as they are more about issue identification). The MBE is more focused on testing the specific ins and outs of the rules—and of course, knowing how to use those rules.

That’s how you could be one of those bar takers who are stellar at the written portion (essays and PT) but still struggle with the MBE.

But we can address this!